Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.10.1

Fruit Bore by All Things and the Fruits of Reason

Passage 342 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author explains that all entities—man, God, and the universe—bear fruit in their own proper seasons, and that reason likewise produces fruits of the same nature as itself.

§9.10.1Φέρει καρπὸν καὶ ἄνθρωπος καὶ θεὸς καὶ ὁ κόσμος· ἐν ταῖς οἰκείαις ὥραις ἕκαστα φέρει.
Man, God, and the universe all bear fruit; each bears it in its own proper seasons.
εἰ δὲ ἡ συνήθεια κυρίως τέτριφεν ἐπὶ ἀμπέλου καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων, οὐδὲν τοῦτο.
And if custom has strictly restricted this term to the vine and the like, that is nothing.
ὁ λόγος δὲ καὶ κοινὸν καὶ ἴδιον καρπὸν ἔχει καὶ γίνεται ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοιαῦθ’ ἕτερα, ὁποῖόν τι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος.
But reason has both a common and a private fruit, and there are produced from it other things of the same kind as reason itself is.

Notes

  1. §9.10.1ἕκαστα — Nominative neuter plural, serving as the subject of the clause ('each thing'). In accordance with Greek grammatical rules, the verb φέρει is in the third person singular to agree with the neuter plural subject.
  2. §9.10.1τέτριφεν — The third-person singular perfect active of the verb τρίβω ('to rub', 'to wear out'). Here, combined with the subject ἡ συνήθεια ('customary usage' or 'language custom'), it is used metaphorically to mean 'has worn a path' or 'has restricted the application of the term through usage.'
  3. §9.10.1ὁποῖόν τι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος — A correlative structure where the relative pronoun ὁποῖον ('of what kind') qualifies the preceding τοιαῦθ’ ἕτερα ('other such things'). It literally means 'such other things as the logos itself is,' indicating that the effects produced by reason share the same essential nature as their source.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.10.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.10.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.